Profiles

The charity allows anyone to give information about a crime, whilst the caller remains completely anonymous.

Since Crimestoppers launched in 1988 they have received 950,000 calls with callers giving 80,660 pieces of useful information.

But now stopping crime has been expanded to inside the prison gates, by encouraging those behind bars to help catch criminals on the “outside”.

In 2006, working in conjunction with the Yorkshire Area Search Team and Prison Liason Officers from 4 police forces, Crimestoppers launched an anonymous reporting system for prisons across Yorkshire and Humberside.

Prisoners are able to use a pin code to call Crimestoppers anonymously and are encouraged to give information on drug trafficking and contraband (mobile phones, sim cards) smuggling into prisons and crimes on the “outside”.

In order to get the message across to inmates, leaflets were distributed to cells across the region and posters were put up next to all internal phones and in the visitor waiting areas to remind inmates of the service.

The charity has received an estimated 700 calls since the scheme began in 2006, and although this does not seem a large amount of calls, the calls they have received have contained quality information.

“At one point, in some establishments, mobile phones were estimated at being worth £500”, explains Paul Ventom, a Senior Officer for Yorkshire Area Search Team.

“We’re getting info & acting on it. The system is working.”

Information given to Crimestoppers from prisoners has not only led to arrests, but has launched investigations in to visitors trafficking drugs in to prisons and also stopped a potential prison break.

If you think you have any information on a crime and do not want to tell the police, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. All calls are anonymous, can not be traced and are not monitored.